AIM FOR EXCELLENCE

Looking For A Way To Recognize and Reward Employees?
Here’s a Plan That Works!

AIM FOR EXCELLENCE is an incentive plan which focuses on motivating employees to go above and beyond, to actively work to achieve company-defined goals. This program can be implemented and managed off- or online. PFI will work with you to launch and manage this program to best suit your client needs.

Performance Objectives
It is important to define specific goals to effectively implement an employee recognition program. Here are the most common goals used:

• Increase productivity
• Achieve defined quality standards
• Generate ideas/reduce operating costs
• Reduce accidents
• Recognize Years of Service
• Improve attendance
• Reduce errors
• Improve morale
• Improve employee retention

Here's What This Program Is About
This incentive plan structure is designed to challenge employees to achieve no more than four defined objectives. The goals should be department, unit or company-wide goals. They will become the target at which your performance excellence is aimed. When these goals are hit, employees will earn award points which can be redeemed for the impressive selection of merchandise awards offered by PFI and featured as printed and online award collections.

Aim For Excellence is about motivating employees to strive for excellence in everything they do on a daily basis while working toward achieving their goals. This means they will have an opportunity to earn award points for a variety of performance-related activities throughout the incentive program including:

• Submitting job/performance-enhancing ideas and recommendations
• Recognizing co-workers and peers for specific acts of excellence and achievement
• On-the-spot recognition by managers or supervisors

The following is a detailed description of all the ways employee efforts to Aim For Excellence will be rewarded.

How Awards Are Earned
The following performance objectives represent the targets which every employee-participant in this program is being challenged to hit. For each award period these objectives are hit, employees will be awarded points
as follows.

Note: The points used above are based on the average annual earnings per employee of $160. It also assumes that all performance objectives carry equal weight. You may want to adjust the total payout and/or weight per objective based on your overall budget and goals.

Top Performance Bonus
When the company succeeds, everybody wins. For every overall program goal achieved at the end of the program, everyone will earn bonus points as follows:

Objectives Bonus Points
Objective 1 5,000 Points ($25.00)
Objective 2 5,000 Points ($25.00)
Objective 3 5,000 Points ($25.00)
Objective 4 5,000 Points ($25.00)

Manager’s Discretionary Bonuses
Managers/supervisors must take an active role in the employee incentive/recognition program. That is why this plan includes a Manager’s discretionary bonus option. With this you can empower your Managers/Supervisors to help employees hit their targets by awarding them Bonus Points “on the spot” for the following defined performance criteria. You will need to give your Managers/Supervisors guidelines in the form of specific criteria for which discretionary bonus points can be awarded. Here are some examples:

• Achieving outstanding productivity or quality
performance over a fixed time period
• Meeting an important deadline
• Learning a new task, system or procedure
• Completing training
• Performing beyond expectations
• Following specific safety guidelines
• Improving on time or attendance record

How and when points are awarded should be left to the discretion of your manager/supervisor.

Send a Kudos
Another important element in this Aim For Excellence incentive program is peer-to-peer recognition or Kudos. This is a way to empower your employees to recognize and reward their co-workers and peers for going above and beyond or achieving extraordinary levels of performance. Depending on the achievement, employeescan send a Kudos by itself or you can send a Kudos with Points. Here are some suggested criteria:

• Above and beyond support to team/department
• Special contributions to morale-building
• Special effort on behalf of a customer
• Developing an outstanding idea/suggestion
• Meeting a critical deadline
• Meeting or exceeding a specific goal
• Special effort on behalf of a customer
• Developing an outstanding idea/suggestion
• Meeting a critical deadline
• Meeting or exceeding a specific goal

Generate Cost Savings Ideas and Suggestions
Who knows better how to improve working conditions, quality standards, productivity and other facets of your work responsibilities than your employees? Aim For Excellence includes the opportunity for employees to submit their cost-saving ideas and suggestions.

Here's how ideas and suggestions will be awarded

Action Rewards
Submit a cost savings idea or suggestion 500 Points
($5.00) plus One Sweepstakes Entry

Submit a productivity improvement idea 500 Points
or suggestion ($5.00) plus One Sweepstakes Entry

PLUS

Submit an idea or suggestion 5,000 Points
which is approved ($25.00)

Plus
One Sweepstakes Entry (among all other employees with approved suggestions)

Suggestion Program Sweepstakes
Submitting Ideas: Each quarter, draw names from among those employees who submitted an idea or suggestion. The number of names drawn should be announced at the beginning of the program. (This number should be based on the number of employees and your overall budget).

Reward the winners of the drawing at least 2,000 points ($10.00).

Approved Ideas: Each quarter, draw names from among those employees who submitted an idea or suggestion which was approved.

Reward the winners of the drawing at least 5,000 points ($25.00).

Program Communication and Support Materials
To launch this program and present it to your employees we recommend the following minimum communication schedule:

Announcement Kit
• Program welcome/announcement letter
• Official rules letter
• Catalog of Awards (Based on the plan and payout above, we recommend the PFI
  Deluxe-Lite Catalog or the Mini-Max Award Brochure.)

Follow Up
• Monthly e-mail or letter to all employees updating on overall progress
• Suggestion Sweepstakes Winners Lists (as drawings occur)
• Quarterly Earnings Statement (online/offline)

Launch and Manage This Program Online or Offline
PFI can help you launch and manage this program online or offline. We recommend that all award points be deposited to personal Aim For Excellence bank accounts. PFI can handle the employee program enrollment process, set up personal bank accounts, receive and deposit all point earnings and produce monthly or quarterly earnings statements as well as management reports. To redeem points for awards, participants can complete an order form and mail or fax it to Award Headquarters or go online to www.awardlink.com.

In addition, if the program is implemented online, PFI can manage all aspects of the program including the peer-to-peer recognition program, automatic e-mails and online bank accounts. To see a complete demonstration of our online capabilities, go to www.awardlink.com. type in “Award” for program name and “Demo” for user ID.

Need More Incentive
Program Development Support—Give Us A Call
The above incentive program plan is one of many ways you can implement an employee incentive and recognition plan. If you would like us to help you develop, launch and manage a variation of this plan or any other incentive program, please contact us at 1-800-292-7371 (Ask the operator for “sales”) or e-mail us at sales@spihq.com.


Habla Espanol?

You might not speak Spanish but what about your incentive program participants? If you have a large number of incentive program participants who speak Spanish as their first language and you are presenting all elements of the program in English you have a problem. The good news is that PFI now has the solution.

Safety Programs
Within the next few months PFI will be introducing a Spanish version of Safety Excellence, including the merchandise awards brochure that is included with this
stock campaign.

Don’t let a language barrier keep your incentive program from succeeding. Contact PFI and let us help you present a safety incentive program targeted so participants will be able to comprehend.

Got Cash?  Get Rid Of It
Here are the Top Ten “quick hit” reasons why cash is an inferior option to merchandise as an incentive reward:

  1. Merchandise is memorable, cash is forgettable.
  2. Cash costs more— it is fully taxable and no breakage.
  3. Winners don’t brag about cash, they do about merchandise and travel awards.
  4. In time, cash is perceived as compensation. Participants grow to expect it and to
      change or discontinue a cash program becomes problematic.
  5. It takes 3-5 times the value in cash to equal the motivational value of merchandise.
  6. Merchandise and travel are easily promoted. Cash is not.
  7. Merchandise involves the family. Cash does not.
  8. Non-cash awards promote personal award goal-setting. Cash awards promote
      higher income expectations.
  9. Merchandise awards offer greater motivational impact for the investment dollar.
10. Merchandise has been a proven motivator for nearly 100 years.

PFI On The Road To Atlantic City

PFI will return to Atlantic City for Saagny Promotions East Show, June 8-10, 2004. If you are planning on attending the show, be sure to stop by Booth 1341. Jim Kapcar, Regional Manager, and George Gonzalez will be at the PFI Booth throughout the show. Take advantage of the years of experience these two industry professionals possess and plan to visit the booth with questions, ideas or requests for support in your efforts
to build your incentive business.

This will also be a good opportunity for you to see the impressive lineup of turnkey incentive solutions that PFI is prepared to offer including the Reflections Service Award Program, Safety Excellence (soon to be in Spanish—see article in this newsletter),
the exciting Rock ’n Run The Warehouse and so much more.

We look forward to seeing you there.



▲Back to Top